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Monday, 13 July 2015

A Plastic Challenge with a twist!

Sea Champion Gill took on this year’s Plastic Challenge with
a twist, she did it whilst on holiday! Below she shares how she got on and has
thrown in some great tips.

I decided to attempt my plastic challenge whilst on holiday for a week in Cornwall as the shops in Penzance were more suited
than those in our home town.

Veges & Fruit

I found the best places for fruit and vegetables were farm
shops, weekly/farmers'/WI markets, and greengrocers. Supermarkets wrapped too much in plastic,
especially organic, which seems bizarre that you can either care about your own
health or that of the planet but not both.
Unwrapped lettuce, celery and cucumber were the hardest to source.

Meat

I always thought meat was going to be my biggest challenge
as all the meat I buy comes either shrink wrapped, triple bagged or on a tray
wrapped in film. So it was with some trepidation that I walked into a butcher's
shop and asked for some lamb shoulder to go straight into my plastic box with
no wrapping. No plastic - no problem! I
found it just as easy to buy fish and cheese at specialist shops or at the meat,
fish or deli counter in supermarkets. It
is however important to be prepared with your own plastic containers,
preferably the type with four clips on the lid to hold the lid on firmly and a
rubber seal to make sure nothing leaks out.
Take it from me there is nothing worse than finding your fresh fish has
leaked out over the rest of your shopping!

Dairy/Baked goods

I think the hardest part of the challenge was finding dairy
produce other than solid cheese and butter.
Shop bought milk either comes in plastic bottles or tetra paks, whilst
soft cheese, yoghurt and cream invariably comes in plastic pots. I did manage to find some crème fraiche in a
glass jar and used tinned coconut milk as a replacement for fresh milk in soup,
which turned out better than the original recipe! Buying bread, cakes and savoury items such as
sausage rolls were easy from a bakers shop using paper bags, but gluten-free
produce was impossible and if you fancy some crisps – forget it!

The Staples

The Weigh Inn

A lot of store cupboard ingredients are really easy to buy –
flour, sugar, eggs, oats, and ingredients in tins and jars, however when it
comes to things like rice, pasta, nuts and dried fruit, it's not so easy. This is where we found 'The Weigh Inn' in
Penzance to be invaluable. It is full of
loose ingredients in tubs that you can scoop out into your own bags, such as
cereals, dried beans and pulses, baking ingredients including bicarbonate of
soda, cream of tartar and baking powder, sweets, herbs and spices.

What about washing?

For the washing I used Ecover Laundry Liquid, the bottle of
which can be refilled at various shops. On the subject of household and
personal care items I have managed to find Suma's Ecoleaf toilet rolls which
are wrapped in a 100% cornstarch compostable wrap called Bioplast, and Lush
Toothy Tabs which are tablets of solid toothpaste packed in a small cardboard
box. I like to buy Faith in Nature unwrapped soaps (coconut is lovely) and use
coconut oil on my face and body.

A load of rubbish? Not so much!

Gill's rubbish for the week

At the end of our holiday I looked at the rubbish I had
accumulated – four glass jars (three to be reused), two egg boxes (also to be
reused), a selection of tins, some paper, some small bits of tin foil, a tub
full of compost, two plastic lid covering strips and a plastic pouring insert
from an olive oil bottle. It will only be the plastic bits that cannot be
recycled. Not too bad, I'm quite proud of myself.

A final few thoughts

Planning in advance seems to be the key to this challenge –
finding recipes that use as little packaging as possible and writing a lot of
lists, as well as the ability to cook meals from scratch. Ready meals use an awful lot of plastic.

I definitely think it is worthwhile shopping at local
markets or using local producers who you can get to know and will support your
efforts especially if they know you will come back every week. Most people seem
to be interested in the challenge and think it is a shame about all the plastic
packaging going out to sea or to landfill.

Hopefully it might give at least one
person food for thought with their own shopping.